New Kawasaki Ninja 650R

vintagecycle · Post by **vintagecycle** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 3:25 am

Whadya all think of this new Kawi? Sounds like kawi did their home work on ergos. I've always liked parallel twins...

http://www.kawasaki.com

FGanger · Post by **FGanger** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 7:05 am

I think the machine looks great. I wish they had posted the seat height. I'm sorry to say that is the first spec' I look at with a new machine.

I nice set of hard bags, designed for the machine, and what a wonderful mid-sized Sport Touring bike.

Frank

jonothan · Post by **jonothan** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:52 am

The Ninja 650R is to be imported to the UK as the ER6-n and it will retain the front fairing that the Japanese designer has created to make the front of the bike look like a face mask. The US version, the Ninja, is identical in all other respects. Here's the US Ninja:

It's going to be a fabulous machine. If (or should I say when) my wife Elaine passes her bike test, this might be just the machine for her - at 175Kg light enough for a nervous new biker but a very worthy bike. Here's the UK ER6-n:

See the difference? But essentially the same machine.

Jonothan

Post by **Pat** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:04 am

What more need be said,
it's gonna be a GOOD,
albeit yet another cookie cutter,
Japanese bike.

I'm falling in love with the power delivery of my Triumph's parallel twin power curve. It has given me pause for thought:
BMW's 80 horsepower, parallel twin, belt driven, upcoming Sport Tourer may well be MY choice for a second bike in the garage (I'm never parting with my BonnieBlack).

Like I said, Japanese bikes are undeniably good. They're also a dime a dozen, and I don't want to be like 'that' guy who is like every other guy.......

Post by **garylspolar** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:34 pm

Pat:

My Japanese motorcycle is special order. Not just anybody gets one (that may change). I wish you lived a little closer, I'd let you take it for a spin. I've just finished the heat mods, and the 145 HP motor no longer melts my 'nads. It darn near perfect now.

Post by **new2BMW** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:57 pm

Like I said, Japanese bikes are undeniably good. They're also a dime a dozen, and I don't want to be like 'that' guy who is like every other guy.......

Pat,
That's not like you to criticize another man's choice of bike! (Although you really didn't pick on anyone in particular.)

Just for the record Sir Patrick, you will never be like every other guy. (And I know, I spent some time trying to be like every other guy until I realized that my efforts were in vain.)

I really love your Bonnie, and the custom bits add even more to the style, but there are four new Bonnies and two Thruxtons in my dealer's showroom right now that could be considered cookie cutters. There are also three 1150 Roadsters, one 850 Roadster and two Rocksters in the same room. All are great bikes, but there aren't many unique bikes left in today's marketplace. My Japanese MT-01 is much more unique than BMW, Ducati and Triumph on the steets of Tokyo. In fact, I've never seen another one on the road.

Today, you need a Confereate, Bimota or Benelli to be truely unique.

Cheers,
Jeff

PS, that 650 Ninja looks like it would be fun to ride.

Post by **Pat** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:05 am

Jeez guys, where did I criticize??? I love bikes, Japanese bikes in particular..... but I've become a motorcycle snob.

Who can think little of a BIG 145 hp full-dress Yamaha that I can straddle and reach the ground from? Gotta love it!

And ANY bike is a "cookie cutter" when it resides next to a few others just like it on a show-room floor. You can't consider an R1150R a popular cookie when damn near a whole year goes by before you see another one on the open road, or a Bonnie', a Rune, or a CBX for that matter!

Sure I like the new Ninja!
But remember this, I love my fellow motorcycle brethren REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY RIDE..........
but I have gone from one end of the spectrum to the other end, and the BMW Roadster was responsible for converting me into A MOTORCYCLE'N SNOB with a taste for OUT OF THE ORDINARY -and- more recently "back to the basics."

"Cookie cutter" is not being critical, jeans are 'cookie cutter' fergodsakes.
I love jeans, but I simply choose to wear denim overalls......

Post by **new2BMW** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:34 am

I'm just givin' you crap Pat. There is not an easier going guythan you on this board.

Snob is waaaaaaay down the list of names I would apply to you.

vintagecycle · Post by **vintagecycle** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:07 am

Um, I like cookies......especially with milk!

I think we're in the midst of seeing a major comeback of the parallel twin over the next few years. Their light weight and recent new technology to bring the power up makes them a great choice for an all around bike. MZ, Triumph, BMW, and Kawaski have realized this and are going forward with it... And how about that new Norton?

Post by **garylspolar** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:03 am

Pat:

I was just bustin' on ya too, Pat. Or, maybe I'm just defensive because I have a cookie cutter bike?

The trim, gauges, paint, character of my R1150R tops my FJR for sure. I understand the snob thing, I'm right there with ya.

Post by **Shaman** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:11 am

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_P ... 519&Page=1

Well, gang, we've now seen it, touched it and sat on it, and from what we can tell so far, Triumph's new Daytona 675 Triple could be the most interesting new offering of 2006...........

In person, the Daytona looks bad-ass, with its projector beam headlights, lovely frame, underseat exhaust and rakish stance. However, those latter two items also force a seat height that will discourage shorter riders; my 31-inch inseam wasn't enough for me to touch flat-footed.

Post by **Pat** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:17 am

I LOOooOOVE bikes, especially when the new stuff comes out!

I can't believe how this age-old parallel twin design gives me a rush..... while offering nothing that launches the "thrill factor"!?!?! If you haven't ridden one in a few years (it's been over 30 years for me), you owe it to yourself to try one out.

I'm serious, I may well consider the new sub 80 horsepower belt-driven 800cc Beemer, LOADED UP WITH BAGS & HALF FAIRING, as my next steed! That should appeal to the "snob" in me, while giving me enough power to do all that a 'sane' man needs......

I've noticed too that there seems to be an increase in bikes with taller seat heights....... bastidges!

Post by **Shaman** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:57 pm

Pat wrote:I've noticed too that there seems to be an increase in bikes with taller seat heights....... bastidges!

I dont get it. The average height is still only like 5'10".
Why are these things being built for 6'1".

31In? Inseam not touching?
(-)99% of the women
(-)75% of the guys who dont like to lean over at a stop.

Is it for the 1%'rs who drive their roads like GP courses?
Most of us dont need foot pegs raised so high you never, ever touch.
Because we wont ever, ever touch anyway.

darthrider · Post by **darthrider** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 1:27 pm

Some thoughts on this...
My prediction is that the "new" parallel/vertical twin engine configuration will become very popular. Just as they did in the 30's which is (I believe) when the first ones came into popular use, and for the same reasons. It could have been before that, I know it wasn't later.

Sort of like the "new" naked "class" of bike that has been around since the mid-1890's!

Seat height on these new ones? Mass centralization, short swingarms & wheelbases for quick turns & weight transfer, steep fork angles, narrow width for cornering clearance...the seat has to go somewere and that is...up. And those are all common characteristics of high performance bikes, most of them. My Speed Triple has me tippy-toeing, which is really no big deal...I never notice it when I'm moving!

The new "baby Daytona" is a perfect example of all that. This bike is going to open some eyes for riders who are enamored of the Jap 600 class. It is not a "600 class" but at 675 is close, although that is coincidental. Triumph was not trying to compete with Japan or to have a 600 class racer. They were designing a mid-size sport bike. The 'little" Triple makes 123 HP with 52 Ft/ lbs. torque in a 363 lb. package...Hoochie Mama! And it doesn't look Japanese...to me looks like the offspring of a Jap 600 (any Jap 600) and something from KTM.
Or Triumph.

Their moto is "Go your own way" and they are.

The parallel/vertical triple is another configuration that has been around a while that still works VERY well.

But big twins are still my favorite!

FGanger · Post by **FGanger** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:25 am

Shaman,

Amen to your Ã¢â‚¬Å“I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get it,Ã¢â‚¬Â comment.

Now I hate to think about this, but . . . I used to have a Ã¢â‚¬Å“Water BuffaloÃ¢â‚¬Â (Suzuki 750, triple 2-stroke cycle engine) that I put LOTS of miles on - no problem.

I had a chance to sit on one a couple of years ago. I wondered how the heck I reached the ground on that machine. I asked the owner if he replaced the seat or suspension from stock? No was the answer.

I hate to say it, but do you suppose that in our youth we are able to stretch our legs/bodies more to reach the ground. Perhaps even the height of the foot pegs would be less of an issue?:roll:

Hmmm . . .

Nay

big papa · Post by **big papa** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 10:03 am

I'll take one of these cookies w/ milk...

Right next to this beast in the garage...

FGanger · Post by **FGanger** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:05 pm

BP,
For a moment I thought you might be checking out a 650 twin.

I was going to say that I didn't think it was the bike for you.

I can see now that you are looking at machines a bit more fitting to your size.

Frank

big papa · Post by **big papa** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 9:45 pm

Yeah, no one wants to see my fat ass on a 650. But I do like the styling.

Post by **gelbe Kulter** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 10:02 pm

I can see now that you are looking at machines a bit more fitting to your size.

At the local dinner ride tonight one guy said to another, "I can't see you riding a YSR50."

I said, "No, you can't see the YSR when he's riding it." He's the only racer I know who weighs more than his bike.

FGanger · Post by **FGanger** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 7:40 am

You do notice that I make a comment like that only when I'm 1700 miles from BP.

Frank

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New Kawasaki Ninja 650R

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